I often wonder if happiness should be the goal to which we all aim.
It is an elusive quality ...
ethereal,
transient,
hijacked by advertisers and retailers.
Perhaps we need to look inwards to find an inner peace
and then 'happiness' will no longer be the Holy Grail.
We will be grounded in the present moment,
attentive to all it has to offer,
and grateful for this one, graced life..

I am passionate about the healing and transformative power of creativity ...
doll making for me in particular.
I often create to deal with an issue in my life,
such as divorce,
or depression,
or accepting change as a positive experience.
The process of creating daily soothes, calms, heals, reveals.
And in looking back at a series after a time, I can see how far I have come,
and delight in the person I am becoming.
I am enjoying the propositions Alain de Botton is making in his latest book, 'Art as Therapy'.

I LOVE seeing random acts of art ...
parking meters wrapped with yarn;
a smile left in a jar on a chair;
a poem posted on a wall;
chalk drawings on the pavement;
a busker's tuneful air.
I struggle when the corporate or art world hijack these random or spontaneous activities
and use them for their own gain.
This ravenous desire for something new robs the world of  intuitive, spontaneous acts of art.

Our lives are rich with every day blessings.
We need a mind to recognise them;
eyes to see them;
a heart to receive them;
a soul to express our gratitude.

Just for fun ...
and nostalgia ...
and to satisfy an aching for a less complicated life!

What is the power of the lullaby?
To soothe?
To relax?
To transport?
To accompany?
To express love?

A great human being ...
a powerful witness ...
a humble man ...
who lived what he believed.

The use of beads in our daily lives is an ancient habit.
Rosary beads.
Prayer beads.
Abacus beads.
Beads used for meditation.
Simple. Grounded. Sustainable. Comforting.

DEATH OF THE YOUNG

People ask why young people die
when they have lived so little.
How do you know they have lived so little?
This crude measure of yours is time
but life is not measured in time.
This is just the same as to say
why is this saying,
this poem,
this picture,
this piece of music so short.
Why was it broken off and not drawn out to the size of the largest speech?
Or a piece of music or the largest picture?
As the measure of length is inapplicable
to the meaning of greatness of productions of wisdom or poetry.
So even more evidently
it is inapplicable to life.
How do you know what inner growth this soul accomplished in its short span
and what influences it had on other people?
Spiritual life cannot be measured by a physical measure.

Leo Tolstoy